Starlink’s launch in India now a matter of when, not if

Elon Musk’s Starlink has received anticipated state approval in India, opening the door to enter the world’s second-biggest internet market after China — over three years after SpaceX’s previous attempt to launch its satellite-based broadband in the country eventually failed. On Wednesday, the Indian Department of Telecommunications gave its nod to Starlink to start working toward its compliance in the South Asian nation, a senior official confirmed to TechCrunch. Starlink will now have to submit documentation showing it complies with the licensing requirements. Earlier this week, New Delhi published its rules (PDF) for Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) operators to set clear security guidelines for companies including Starlink, Amazon’s Kuiper, and others. Some of those rules will help the Indian government censor content and intercept traffic, just as it could do with terrestrial network operators, and restrict user terminal access “from outside the geo-fen ... Read full article.